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Hallelujah! At long last, the Prime Minister has fired the starting gun on Britain returning to work normally – and the economy firing on all cylinders.
With Covid on the run and work from home rules axed, Boris Johnson has made it plain he wants our towns and cities abuzz again. Quite justifiably, he has told Secretaries of State to get staff back to their desks.
After all, civil servants keep the wheels of national life properly oiled. It's vital they shift a string of bureaucratic backlogs – from processing HGV licences to renewing passports – which risk paralysing Britain.
But with depressing predictability, the intransigent public-sector unions are digging in their heels, branding Mr Johnson 'reckless' with Covid still rife.
Boris Johnson has fired the starting gun on Britain returning to work normally
With breathtaking arrogance, they declare old working practices are gone for good.
They must be faced down!
The truth is, working from home suits many civil servants, for whom lockdown has been overwhelmingly positive.
Many have been on full pay for a fraction of their normal work – with the added advantage of not paying for commuting.
Perhaps they should emulate the delivery drivers, NHS staff and indeed Downing Street, who have toiled in workplaces throughout the entire crisis.
Remaining in suspended animation also torpedoes prosperity and destroys businesses that rely on footfall.
Whitehall must set an example to white-collar Britain. There are no excuses for it to be a ghost
